X-Force (1st series) #118

Issue Date: 
September 2001
Story Title: 
And then there were six
Staff: 

Peter Milligan (writer), Mike Allred (artist), Laura Allred (colorist), Mike Allred & Blambot (letters), John Miesegaes (assistant editor), Axel Alonso (editor), Joe Queseda (editor in chief), Bill Jemas (president)

Brief Description: 

The Orphan was about to commit suicide, but as he is surprised by U-Go Girl teleporting into his house, the shot misses. He explains it away as having thought to be under attack, and Edie reveals her reason for coming. She wants to convince him to step down as leader so that she might get the position, and as he doesn’t listen she teleports them high up in the sky falling downwards to scare the Orphan. Before she fully falls asleep, she teleports them to safety. Later the team departs to Bastrona to rescue Paco Perez, but they are ambushed by the army. Bloke dies saving the informant who set them up. The team finds the lab where Paco is being held, but he is strapped to a machine, and the tubes have to be removed in a certain order or he dies. The Orphan knows that his team can’t deal with the invading army for long, so he has to make a decision.

Full Summary: 

Standing at the Orphan’s house, various reporters have just heard a gunshot. Inside U-Go Girl and the Orphan are fighting about the gun. Edie thinks that Guy just tried to shoot her, but he makes up various stories. At first he says that was polishing it, but as Edie doesn’t belive him, he says that he has a stalker and that he perceived her arrival as an attack. U-Go Girl buys the story, she even makes fun of Guy for being lamer than she thought. Anyway, Edie has dropped by to convince Guy to step down as X-Force’s leader, wanting that position for herself.She offers to pay him for it, even offers to get him a new life and a new I.D., but the Orphan doesn’t want to pretend to be somone who he isn not. U-Go Girl gets angry and teleports both of them high up in the sky. They start to fall, Edie tries to make a point with showing that joining X-Force is a final decision. It means to say goodbye to the old life and that it’s his last chance to step down. Suddenly she gets tired, since she used her power twice in a short while and she is about to fall asleep in free fall.
Meanwhile X-Force’s new members are saying goodbye to friends and family. In Cambridge Massachusetts, Vivsector is sad that his father did not show up to give him a farewell like his mother does. Phat is with his parents in Jacksonville, Florida. He apologizes that a fake story was released to the press (last issue), but his agent thinks he should have a dysfunctional family background. Saint Anna is in a church in New York, praying. Bloke and his boyfriend spend a last moment together, they kiss.
In the last instant before passing out, Edie teleports herself and the Orphan into her bedroom. Her last words are that he would not believe what she left behind (in her former life). As she is asleep, the Orphan admits that she actually saved his life. When she teleported into his house, he was about to commit suicide with the gun.
Somewhat later, the Coach gives the team some last orders for their mission. They are supposed to meet with contact person Diego Ardilles to learn the exact location of the boy Paco, whom they are supposed to rescue. Actually he warns that Diego might outsell them, but he is the only choice they have. Edie states that if the team keeps up with it’s mortality rate, she might become leader after this mission.
Not before long, Edie has transported the group to Bastrona and they arrive on a roof, while in the streets there is a parade with costumes. U-Go Giorl is tired and thinks about using one of her ampules, but Saint Anna is able to re-vitalise Edie with her healing abilities. The Orphan orders his team to stay put, while he makes it cross the street to enter Ardilles house. Quickly he recognizes with his hypersenses that Diego set them up, but it’s too late as the army already invades the house. Guy is surrounded and about to be shot, yet this teammates save him. The Anarchist uses his acid sweat, and Phat and Viivisector deal with some more soldiers. Guy wonders why the team disobied his direct orders to wait, but U-Go Girl says that she decided that they had waited long enough. In the distraction, Diego tries to escape, but Bloke follows. Two helicopters close in, Tike wants to blast them, but the Orphan vetoes him, saying that to many innocent lives might be endangered. The helicopters then fire, and Bloke shields Diego with his body, and so receives a direct hit in the back. Immediatly Edie teleports them all away, but it’s too late, Saint Anna is able to lessen Bloke’s pain a little bit, before he finally passes away.
Most of the team are shocked, only U-Go Girl immediatly blames Guy of bad leadership and belittles him when she becomes aware that he is actually crying. Phat gets very angry at Diego, thinking that none of this wouldn’t happened if he had not set up X-Force. Using his powers to grow extra mass, he attempts to strangle the informant, but the Orphan commands himn to stop, reminding the team of their mission. Yet the team wants to put it at a vote, wether to kill Diego or not, even Saint Anna wants him to pay with his life. However the Orphan says that they still need him to find Ppaco Perez and theat they can have their voting after the mission. Before Edie teleports the team to the coordinates that Diego gives her, there is one last thing to do. They can’t allow Bloke’s corpse falling into the enemies’ hands, so the Anarchist is forced to disintegrate it.
X-Force enters a well-guraded building, where little Paco is strapped in some machine. They fight many soldiers to get in, and suddenly the celing is about to give in, but Phat can cover it, only he is rendered unconscious by the strain.Amidst all the fighting, the Orphan realizes that he has finally found his purpose in life. He makes it to Paco, but as he tries to removed the tubes from his body, he is warned by a scientist, that they need to be removed in a certain order or the kid will die. Before the doctor can reveal that order he is hit by crossfire. While the others are still fighting, the Orphan wonders how to get Paco out.

Characters Involved: 

Anarchist, Bloke, Coach, Doop, Orphan, Phat, Saint Anna, U-Go Girl, Vivisector (all X-Force)

An unnamed TV reporter (she was already in last issue)

Paco Perez, a kid from Bastrona

Diego Ardilles, contact person in Bastrona

Story Notes: 

Bastrona seems a lot like Cuba. There is a a giant red picture of the country’s leader (looking a lot like Fidel Castro) in a market place.

Issue Information: 
Written By: